Chapter 38

"You bastard, quit cheating!" A tall, blonde-haired teen shouted furiously as he held his stomach.

AIden didn't bother replying in that moment. He simply pulled his arm back struck. Once, twice. And he was knocked out cold.

He let go of the boy's collar, dropping him onto the floor, before turning to the instructor. "It's like beating children. What the hell have you been teaching?"  He frowned.

This was supposed to be "one of the best" academies in the world. But not a single one of these fucks seemed to know how to throw--or take--a punch.

The instructor, a male of average height but impressive built wearing a sweat suit, frowned. "They've had a month of training, of course they're weak. You're the odd one, kid. How exactly have you been living, huh?"

No technique, but clean and efficient...

Ooyama, the man who'd been addressed just now, evaluated him as someone with plenty of experience in combat but no formal training. in some ways, that was better. The kid fought with a cold brutality, and  Ooyama felt like he'd finally found a gem worth polishing.

"Recently? Quite good," He replied easily. "So, whose next?" He looked at the line of teen to his left.

He almost felt bad for them. They were all a year or two younger and obviously had little to no physical training of any kind. Arms and legs like pencils,  most of them. Relying on their abilities, he was sure.

His thoughts regarding their powers had changed a bit these days, to be honest. Before, he felt like he were walking on eggshells around everyone. They were all so much stronger just in the physical aspect, let alone with powers added.

But now....he realized it wasn't much different from his previous world? The levels were different, but this body is from this world too. Meaning it was made for this world. Yuuji had just been so damn unhealthy.

Aiden, however, changed that. Constant hard exercise made him strong, more so than the average person of this world. At least, in terms of arm and leg power. But that was enough.

--Strength has increased by 1--

The sudden notification somewhat surprised him. Though they were weak, Aiden supposed they also offered a kind of workout. The dynamic movement used in combat, probably. It trains muscles not often used in traditional exercises.

WIth that his strength had reached  25 which was high enough to, surprisingly, open new stats.

Endurance unlocked. A new notification popped up.

--Endurance--A stat that reflects the toughness of your body.

--Stamina--A stat that reflects your ability to sustain prolonged physical or mental effort.

They both started out at 20

He wasn't quite sure what the point of them showing up now. Because these things aren't new. If he didn't have endurance or stamina before, then he wouldn't have ever been able to work out like he had been.

So he posed the system a question and it answered helpfully

The newly acquired stats are bonuses to your existing physical prowess. Though the Host's body is a resident of this world, not all locals have equal toughness of body. As they possess different abilities or practice different techniques, their bodies become more powerful than the norm and can be quite dangerous. As such, the stats were given to help the Host better survive his environment.

Aiden was quite pleased with that...until the next line came.

Please note, however, that being bound by a member of the opposite sex weakens the Host severely.

The hell

Aiden silently cursed. Why the cinnamon toast fuck does that weaken me? Am I fucking Wonder Woman or something? And here I thought BDSM was one of my strong suits.

This is probably more bullshit from Cade's brother...or whoever the guy was...what was his name again? Kable.

Fucking asshole, hope he chokes on a cheese stick. Who designs a mechanic like that? For a moment, he felt like Ty was here. This is exactly the kind of weird thing he'd come up with.

Aiden shook his head imperceptibly. Yeah, those two have to be his kids.

Cade had been alluding to as much for a while now, Aiden had to accept it. He didn't know how Ty had fathered a being like Cade, but...it was obvious something happened to Ty after Aiden's death.

It weighed heavily on him, the things he didn't know about Ty's life without him. Thinking of it now, Cade and likely Kable were his nephews....he should probably treat them better...

Maybe ask them about Ty. About Jess.

...He still felt his heart tighten. Even now, he couldn't think of his lost family without regret and pain.

He was worse, these days. He said he'd been doing "quite good" but...

Aiden had been using again.

He was the highest sought-after boy toy in the state. He'd built up quite a network being known as the "walking orgasm" of New Francisco. Several powerful women had taken a liking to his ability to make them cum within five minutes, to say the least, and afforded him many benefits.

Wealth being chief among them. With it...he'd slipped.

Aiden wouldn't apologize. He'd died like four fucking times already. Thats more than any man could lay claim to.

What son of a bitch could blame him for going back to old habits? He tried quitting. But on top of losing his families, friends, and all things familiar....he'd been impaled by giant swords and killed by psychotic bitches who wanted to monopolize him.

....He drifted away from such thoughts.

Instead he focused on his stats. He was glad for them because from the sound of it they'd allow him some measure of protection.

The use of abilities were allowed but most people here were Elementalists and all he had to do was dodge their attacks.

It was a lot like dodgeball, really. Aiden could think of several far more effective methods for their abilities.

For example, the boy he'd beaten just now had heat manipulation he used to create balls of fire to send his way. Keep in mind, this was manipulation of heat. Not a simple flame. He had access to a far greater deal if control. But he didn't use it.

AIden wouldn't need fire at all. He'd have increased the heat around his opponent until he passed out from heatstroke.

Instead this dumb kid sent fireballs his way. Fire had very little density. Weight. You couldn't put any power behind a throw, so they were pretty slow. About the same as throwing a piece of wadded paper?

As if he'd ever get hit by shit like that.

Sure, iF you were close enough and had piss poor reflexed it might hit. But Aiden? Fuck you, he was better than that.

If he wanted to hit him, he should've made a stream of fire like a flame thrower. Not some little balls that did utterly nothing.

Maybe at higher levels, it'd have worked? But no, these lacked any threat whatsoever to him.

"Arrogant prick," A voice responded. It came from a red-head further down the line, her aura cold but eyes blazing. "Picking on those weaker than you, have you no shame?"

Aria Farnsworth, the sole daughter of the prestigious Farnsworth family, raked him with a disgusted sneer. It'd only been a few weeks since they became students here, but she'd watched the man in front of her take down and ridicule her classmates enough to dislike him.

They were different ages, him being her senior with him at 18 and her at 17, but that didn't matter here at Basil Academy. Only your skill.

Aiden snorted. "Shame? Kid, in live battle that doesn't exist. Honor, shame, they don't matter to anyone but yourself. The winner has the last laugh. Stick to your ideals if you want, but don't bitch when someone else beats you."

Aria sputtered. "How uncouth!" She spat. "You obviously have more experience, yet instead of teaching them you just beat them down and ridicule them as children!" She exclaimed. "How dare you act so pretentious!"

Aiden was unmoved. "Beating their ass is the best lesson I can give," He replied with a scoff.

"What utter nonsense," The girl hmph'd. "How can mindlessly hurting someone teach them anything?"

For a while now she'd been discontent with his harsh methods, but this was just too much! She couldn't take it anymore.

Instructor Ooyama, however, stood to his support.  "Ms. Farnsworth, would you expect honor and kindness from your enemy? If so, be prepared to die for those ideals of yours. One learns more from failure than from success. In war, that's a lesson burned onto your skin."

He touched one side of his face where an angry red scar was seared onto his flesh, a remnant from past mistakes.  The man was silent for a moment before continuing.

"I'm sure Maddox has similar lessons etched onto his own," He glanced at the youth. "Those like you, who have not known such hardships, are lucky. You can learn caution and ruthlessness now, when mistakes don't accompany such harsh and permanent consequences. At most, you go home with a few broken bones and some bruises. If you want to complain about only that much, then leave. Otherwise, come up here yourself and prove your ideals superior."

Hearing such a thing, Aria looked at Aiden carefully.

Just now, he'd beaten Chun Yu with ease. Not only that, he'd beaten four other students the same way before him. The youth dispatched them with quick, lethal grace. He walked right up to them with a steady, almost predatory lope and delivered a single jab to the side of their head and they were down. Chun Yu was the one who fared against him best and even he only lasted a few moves.

He'd called it cheating, but that was just a baseless remark that came with an unwillingness to accept his defeat. But she wasn't like them. They relied on talent with their abilities. She, however, came from a noble family full of strong fighters. She wasn't crippled by reliance on her power like they were.

She hated that arrogant, cock-sure gait of his. The way he beat down on his fellow students so coldly.

"I'd be glad to," She readily accepted.  Saying so, she stepped onto the field.

They stood in a large gladiatorial arena big as a football stadium, the ground solid dirt. Aiden smiled. This one was stronger, he knew. Though as a woman she was more slender, her muscles were toned. Her eyes fierce.

This was a woman who'd known a bit of combat. How long had it been since the last time I fought someone like her?

Not since he killed that bastard, Tobias. The man had made such threats. A man born and bred in the underground, he'd promised to do unspeakable things to Aiden's sister.

It happened one night, in a club of neutral territory.

But that one comment was all it took to make Aiden see red. No one threatened his family. After that, the entire area became a warzone. Aiden suffered numerous wounds. His entire body was caked in blood.

Even so, he'd found the fucker and fought tooth and nail until he'd plunged his fingers into the man's eyes and rammed him into a shard of broken glass.

Tobias was a tough, unyielding bitch. The kind who could take a knife to the gut and keep going at you like a goddamn warthog.

Now, he felt the same level of danger and stubbornness from the woman before him. Aiden grinned.

"This should be fun"

Aria found his eagerness foul. "A battle-hungry fool," She shook her head.

Light seemed to dance in his eyes just then as he replied, "Try to teach me a lesson, then."

She met him with equal fervor. "Gladly." She took a stance.

Ooyama shook his head at the two and announced the start of the duel. "Begin."

Aria, standing ten feet away, darted towards him. Her figure was a blur, her leg rising to land a blow at his neck. But Aiden merely took a small step back, avoiding her attack. it was barely even a conscious effort, years of fighting making his instinctive reactions far faster than what normal people could keep up with.

Having escaped, he drove his fist into her upper thigh. The soft flesh was an ideal point of attack, making her grit her teeth in pain. But she ignored it with an iron will and simply used her momentum to turn and use her other leg to strike his center.

Aiden saw it coming a mile away. Again, he simply stepped to the side and avoided her leg entirely. He clenched his fist once more and unceremoniously struck out with the back of his hand.

Aria quickly brought her arms up to protect her face, but moments later felt a shock through her entire body. She felt his monstrous strength, enough to make her clench her teeth.

He wouldn't have been able to put much power behind his attack from that angle, yet its still so strong!

Aria thought that he must've cultivated some body-strengthening technique, but she couldn't feel any fluctuations of fleshy power from him. Usually, body cultivators have enormous vitality, something gained from purifying and strengthening their muscles, bones, and even blood. This bodily energy was very distinct, different from Qi refiners.

Even Yang Qi, which was a hot, masculine energy present in all males, was different. No, Body refiners were full of pure life energy, which existed in all beings. It was a more...neutral energy, but far more mysterious.

Aria had met cultivators of all kinds before. Aiden wasn't one. Which meant...he was relying on his physical body, unenhanced by cultivation techniques of any kind.

Although it was the same as what a Body refiner did, it accomplished similar things without needing to use the energy of heaven and earth to refine their bodies, thereby strengthening them.

Monster, Aria thought. Relying on his natural body alone, he was so powerful. What if he did cultivate a Body refining technique? He'd be an absolute freak.

One has to know, Aria is already in the ninth stage of the Acquired realm. Which means she was already starting to press the limits of what was possible for a human. She cultivated hard to get to where she is now, but she's losing in a battle of strength against someone relying on their natural body?

It could only mean one thing...he had a special, godly Physique. Aria knew now how he, a person who had almost no knowledge of cultivation upon arriving here, was able to gain attendance. Well, she expected something like this. After all, gaining entry into Basil Academy wasn't easy.

Still, she didn't think he'd hold such monstrous power! Taking his fists was like being rammed into by a mid-sized magical beast.  Such a thing would absolutely ruin any other person here.

Meanwhile, Aiden had no clue as to the significance of his strength. Having no common sense regarding this world, he underestimated himself. Or rather, he underestimated the system's benefits.

Aria, not one to lose her momentum, chose a different approach. Knowing she could not best him in strength, she chose to get close to him instead. Using her slightly superior speed, she appeared behind him.

She intended to use her smaller, more lithe form to coil around him and lock down his joints so he couldn't exert any force. With that, it'd be her win no matter how he struggled. And just like that, she appeared at his back and grappled him to the ground, encasing him into a triangular lock, a standard over-hook side with a top-side triangle. Now, she held his dominant hand in place while her left leg trapped his own.

But Aiden, with his vast experience, wasn't fooled. He knew what she was intending and allowed her to trap him. Once he was firmly under her grasp, he used his right hand as an assist. With his legs as leverage, he raised himself off the ground and put his right elbow under her leg.

Now she was exposed, no longer having a hold over him. Rotating his hips, Aiden quickly scissored his legs and sealed her own leg, breaking the triangle. From there he took his defensive hand and caught her toes.

In a panic, Aria attempted to transition to a bottom-side triangle. But from her position, it was too difficult and Aiden anticipated that. He squared his hips to the ceiling. Now the triangle was fully unlocked.

AIden then swiftly countered, raising his leg and stepping over her right foot, locking it down. Now one foot was wedged between his two legs while her second foot was controlled by his right hand.

Having done that, he easily angled and slid his hips out of her lock. All that was left now was to fight her upper body, using his secondary hand to aid his escape.

Unfortunately, that wasn't the end. Aria was as tenacious as a cockroach, employing a variety of other grapples against him from that point on. Yet they remained ineffective as Aiden continued to perform counter after counter, frustrating Aria to no end.

Eventually, Aiden got annoyed. Then, as he wrestled with her, he performed attacks of his own.

Aria felt her face turn red. "W-Where do you think you're touching?!" She demanded.

Aiden was atop her, staring down at the young woman. His handsome face seemed even more charming up close. Though she tried to ignore it, it was hard to deny his attractiveness. Especially when he was holding her down so roughly.

Right now, a hand was at her plump breast while his legs locked down her own in a position where she was spread out before everyone.

She felt hot fingers travel up her thigh and rest themselves near her crotch. His dominant hand kneaded her breast.

"Wait...what are you...." Aria gulped at small shocks of electricity that raked her entire being.  Shame hit her hard and fast as a pinched nipple caused an unladylike voice to escape her lips before all those present.

"Submit, and I'll stop." He growled into her ear.  His fingers inched closer to her groin, causing her endless dismay.

"Perverted...bastard," She ground out, sounding more like moans than a curse. "I'll never give in to you!"

At her words, everyone watching felt odd.

Instructor Ooyama felt incredibly awkward, feeling their fight was becoming somewhat strange. "Alright, you two," He started. "That's enough." The man grimaced

"NO!" Aria shouted stubbornly. "I haven't given in yet!" She refused.

Ooyama's brow was caked in sweat. Seeing the entrapped Aria, he couldn't help but have wayward thoughts. Her breathing was so weirdly labored and erotic, he wasn't sure what he was seeing.

"Dammit, Farnsworth, I said--"

"I can do this!" Aria snapped. "Just...wait..." All of a sudden, her breath became labored, cheeks dyed pink.

Ooyama froze at the sight, feeling terribly troubled. He wanted to just break them apart, but seeing her fighting spirit, he stayed silent. As the top student in her year, it was rare for her to have an opponent like Aiden who had managed to counter her so thoroughly.

Since she was refusing to quit, what could he do? And she certainly didn't appear to be in pain...no rather...she almost seemed to be enjoying it...

His thoughts mimicked everyone else's.

What kind of duel is this?

A few of them had reddened faces, feeling as if they were watching something they shouldn't. The women, especially, felt their ears warm. They really didn't know where to put their eyes, ah!

Meanwhile, Aria struggled to escape Aiden's hold. But as his hands worked, she felt a strange and unfamiliar feeling rise up within her,

Aiden took a moment and forced her face to meet his own. "Last chance, kid," He warned.

Aria pursed her lips. By now, her resistance had begun to lessen. Her legs closed tightly against his hand as if to lock his fingers between her thighs.

"I won't...let you win," Aria replied, voice soft and nearly imperceptible. Her entire body glistened with sweat, excluding an enchanting fragrance.

Her womanhood responded almost against her will as he mercilessly teased her.

This is a man, Aria thought irreverently. So hot, hard, and heady. Aria's heart pounded in her chest. She couldn't escape. His firm, powerful limbs pinned her down, encasing her in a thick and masculine musk. He seemed to be showing her how she, as a woman, was no match for a male.

It was utter humiliation.

"Come for me." He commanded.

And just then, as if responding to his will, her entire body went numb with pleasure. She bit down on her lips, forcing down a cry before her moist flower exploded with dew.

Aria shuddered with the force of her orgasm, clutching onto his thick arms and thrusting her hips into the air as viscous liquid dirtied his hand.

Only then did he deign to release her.

The young woman hid her face, tears streaming down her cheeks.

All around them, uncomfortable and awkward gazes poured down on her. Though most avoided her, she felt like everyone was staring. Their eyes stung.

Aria hurriedly rose from the ground and rounded on him with a fierce glare. "Bastard!" She hissed, her hand coming up for a slap.

Aiden caught it easily and pulled her towards him. He could feel her hard, pearly-like nipples press against him through his shirt.

"You could've ended it any time, but you didn't," His breath was hot against her ear. "So don't act like a fucking victim when I still have your juice on my fingers."

He'd barely even touched her, at most he kneaded a breast or two, but she still came. Wasn't she too sensitive? All the woman had to do was give in and admit her loss, yet she persisted.

The fuck was he supposed to do? She just wouldn't stop. No matter how many times he escaped her grapples, she'd struggle and try to get the better of him. He liked her tenacity, but there had to be a limit.

He didn't want to hurt her, after all.

She just wouldn't submit. So he tried a different tactic.

Aria looked into his indifferent eyes and started crying in full. She hugged herself, sobbing. "I...I'm not fit for marriage anymore!" She sniffled, making all the young students and even the Instructor feel impossibly uneasy.

Aiden shrugged, walking away towards the line now that the duel was over. "That's your fault, not mine." He said carelessly.

Aria stopped and stared at him. "You...!" She started with a petulant roar. "T-Take responsibility, you brute!"

Aiden paused and took in her matured form, from that slim waist begging to be held to that pretty, angelic face framed by vibrant, crimson-colored locks of hair.

He regarded her with a slow, lazy smile that stunned every female present. "Let's take this to my bed, then."

Aria's mouth fell open. As did everyone else's.

Aiden arched a brow. "What's wrong?" He asked. "Isn't that what you wanted?"

Aria sputtered. "N-No...that...I didn't..."

The man merely held out a hand. There was no expectance in his eyes, only a calm certainty. Aria gulped. Then, with her head down, she slowly put her palm in his and allowed him to lead her away.

Together, Ooyama and the rest of the students looked at their retreating backs with shock.

What the hell just happened?